"We communicate daily on anybody who has had recent surgery or rehabilitation," says Caito, who is in his 28th season with the Bears. "Usually, at the end of the day, the three of us will sit down and go through the people who might have some restrictions."

Caito, 47, a native of Tiffin, Ohio, did not dream of becoming a trainer as a youngster.

"I really wanted to coach basketball when I left high school," says Caito. "I went to St. Joseph's College in Indiana and I got involved with the basketball program there as a manager and trainer for four years.

"The Bears had their training camp there (in Rensselaer, Ind.) in those years, and they were looking for student summer help. I decided I would try it, and I did it for three summers. And during my senior year I drove up to Wrigley Field (where the Bears formerly played) on Sunday mornings to help work the games. Then I would go back to school.

"In those days, one guy was really handling everything. Ed Rosy was the Bears' trainer then. He was getting up a little bit in years and things were changing in football, so he decided to bring me on as his assistant. I made the decision after graduation that I would try it. I enjoyed it, and I've just been here ever since. I gave up the idea that I would ever coach basketball. But I still love to watch basketball."

Caito was named the Bears' head trainer in 1973, at the age of 26.

Riederer, 37, formerly employed by the Green Bay Packers, introduced a series of conditioning tests to the Bears last season. This season he has added more testing.

"It gives us a base line," says Riederer. "We test on flexibility. We test on strength. We test on power. We will have a conditioning test. We test on speed. And we test their percentage of body fat. All of those things give us a good physical analysis on every guy. We can see each guy's strengths and weaknesses and set goals."

Emrich is a former world-class weightlifter and United States Olympic squad member.

"Our goal obviously is to improve strength, and by improving strength you are going to help to improve their endurance," says Emrich. "We also work the flexibility angle to eliminate as many muscle pulls as possible."

Emrich, Caito and Riederer try to coordinate their efforts throughout the year.

"Caito handles all the injuries, and then he advises Russ and me about what a player can or cannot do," says Emrich. "The doctor is actually the No. 1 man, and he advises Fred Caito about what to proceed with. Then Russ and I pick it up from there."

Improving team speed has been the major emphasis of second-year coach Dave Wannstedt and his staff.

"Strength is no substitute for skill. Strength enhances skill," says Emrich. "Speed is a natural asset. However, if the muscle is weak, you are not going to be fast. So strength is always a plus, not a negative."

Says Riederer: "What we really have to continually convince people of is that when they become stronger, they become quicker and more powerful. So strength is a basis for becoming faster and quicker and more explosive. After we do the stretching as well, then that translates to the field and the skills that the coaches are asking from them."

Wannstedt meets with members of the medical staff in the spring to set weight restrictions for each player, paying particular attention to the percentage of body fat on each player.

Dr. Michael Schafer is the team physician. Dr. Jay Munsell is the internist.

"Alonzo Spellman comes in at about 6 percent body fat," says Emrich. "For a defensive lineman, if he were at 12 to 14 percent body fat, we would be happy with that. With offensive linemen, at 14 to 16 percent, we would be happy with that. When we know how much a player weighs at a certain body fat level, then we expect him to maintain that weight.

"Among the receivers, we expect them to be around 8 percent. But you have your exceptions."

Anthony Morgan, now with the Packers, was around 4 percent body fat when he was with the Bears last season.

"You have some genetic exceptions," says Emrich.

Emrich is a firm believer that all the Bears-big and small-can enhance their strength through lifting.

"The bigger guys are going to be the strongest. Guys like Chris Zorich and Spellman. All of these big people are pretty equal," says Emrich. "Steve McMichael (now with Green Bay) was also one of the strongest. Offensively, Mark Bortz is strong. Jerry Fontenot is another one who is very strong."

Safety John Mangum, converted last season from cornerback, is exceptionally strong despite his deceiving 5-foot-10-inch, 180-pound frame.

"He's not a big man, yet he can bench press 385 pounds and he has done 620 pounds squatting on the safety bar," says Emrich.

Over his 23 years with the Bears, Emrich has witnessed many changes in weight-training philosophy.

"I think the major changes have come in proper diet," says Emrich. "Also, people have accepted the importance of lifting weights. At the beginning, I had to teach everybody about what was happening and explaining that it was going to help them. I had a lot of resistance to it back then. It is accepted now and encouraged by all the coaches.

"Also, conditioning has improved. There are more ideas and the players are training year around. Before, they would take a couple of months off. Now we have people in the weight room working out within two weeks after the season ends."